HEKS/EPER is making a difference in the «Social inclusion» in Senegal

Senegal's rural dwellers face dwindling prospects of leading a life with sufficient income. Among the reasons why many smallholder and cattle-rearing families can no longer make ends meet are undersized plots of land, soil erosion, lack of rain, as well as insufficient production resources. For some years now their plight has been compounded by land speculation and land grabbing by investors. Smallholder families without official land titles risk losing their land. The living space for cattle-rearing families and their herds is also under threat from what is known as the «agricultural front». HEKS/EPER and local partner organizations support smallholder and cattle-rearing families in Senegal in building a stable livelihood for themselves.

Facts

Thanks to HEKS/EPER, 9000 smallholders and cattle farmers boosted their incomes in 2017.

Some 1700 people gained access to 550 hectares of land.

Ever more people are being excluded because of their social background, ethnicity, age, gender or religion. Integrating people with a migration background can be compounded, for example, by the lack of the requisite language proficiency, ignorance of Switzerland's cultural specificities or by disadvantages on the job market. HEKS/EPER works actively to ensure that the affected people have access to education, work, government programmes and services. But integration is incumbent on society as a whole, which calls for openness as well as regulatory structures that ensure the right of social participation for all. This implies that everyone has the same rights and opportunities and that features such as gender, age, social background, nationality or religion do not give rise to discrimination.